Abilities (Japanese: とくせいspecial characteristic) are a game mechanic introduced in Generation III. Individual Pokémon may have only one of these special attributes at a time, which generally serve to assist them in battle. An Ability cannot be changed after a Pokémon is obtained except by evolution, where the Ability it changes into is determined by the former Ability and form change. Not every Ability is beneficial; some will hinder the user.

Contents

Mechanics

Some species of Pokémon may have multiple Abilities. Pokémon caught in the wild will have one of two possible Abilities, and there is a 50% chance of encountering either. In terms of game data, these Abilites may be thought of as being stored in separate slots (i.e. Munna has Forewarn in the first slot and Synchronize in the second).

The only way a Pokémon can change its Ability is upon evolution. The "slot" storage system means that if an unevolved Pokémon has the "first" Ability for its species, it will have the "first" Ability of its evolved species upon reaching this stage, even if this Ability differs in the evolved species. In other words, a Poochyena with Run Away would evolve into a Mightyena with Intimidate, while a Poochyena with Quick Feet would evolve into a Mightyena with Quick Feet. If the unevolved Pokémon has only one Ability, but its evolution may have one of two Abilities, then it has a 50% chance of acquiring either Ability (dependent on its personality value).

When Abilities were introduced in Generation III, some Pokémon only had one possible Ability. A number of these species were given a second Ability in Generation IV; upon transfer forward with Pal Park, a Pokémon affected by this change will keep its Generation III Ability unless it evolves, in which case the Ability will be recalculated.

A number of interactable Pokémon in Black 2 and White 2 also have their Hidden Ability.

If a female Pokémon has a Hidden Ability and is bred, it has a 60% chance of giving that Ability to each of its children. Each of the other Abilities has a 20% chance of being passed down. Hidden Abilities cannot be passed down from male or genderless Pokémon, or when breeding with Ditto.

Abilities and breeding

The mechanics of which Ability is acquired upon hatching a Pokémon Egg (in instances when a hatched Pokémon may have one of two Abilities) varies from game to game. In all games up to and including Pokémon Black and White, a Pokémon hatched from an Egg has a 50% chance of acquiring either Ability.

However, starting from Pokémon Black and White 2, there is an 80% chance of the resulting offspring having the same "slotted" Ability as its mother and hence a 20% chance of the other Ability being passed down as long as the other parent is not Ditto. This might be a reference to Mitochondrial DNA which, in most species, is inherited solely from the mother.

Starting from Black and White, if the mother Pokémon has a Hidden Ability, it has a 60% chance to pass it on to her offspring when bred with another Pokémon from the same Egg Group. Hidden Abilities cannot be passed down from male or genderless Pokémon.

In Pokemon Conquest

While most Pokémon species in Pokémon Conquest have access to three Abilities (similar to the main series, Hidden Abilities included), many of these Abilities are different from the main series due to differences in the battle system. For example, abilities like Cute Charm and Rivalry do not exist in Pokémon Conquest (due to the game's lack of a gender mechanic), while other abilities utilize mechanics unique to Pokémon Conquest battles (like "Sprint", which increases the user's movement range).

Like the main series, an individual Pokémon's Ability is dictated by the its current species (i.e. evolutionary form) and may change during evolution. Unlike the main series, the individual Pokémon's Ability can also be changed at any time by taking it to a Mystery Spring.

In the anime

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Abilities have been shown in the anime, but are usually only used in battles; however, sometimes they have an effect on the plot, such as Ash's Infernape's Blaze.
At one point in Gotta Catch A Roggenrola!, Iris pointed out that Roggenrola had the Ability Sturdy, implying that Roggenrola would receive less damage than a Pokémon normally would.

In the TCG

Abilities under the name of Abilities did not appear in the Trading Card Game until the Black & White expansion kicking off Generation V. However, this was merely a renaming of the longstanding Pokémon Powers. Pokémon Powers were very similar to Abilities, but were introduced much earlier, appearing in the very first Base Set during Generation I. In fact, some Abilities from the games originally appeared as Pokémon Powers.

With the introduction of the Expedition Base Set, Pokémon Powers were split into two groups: Poké-Powers and Poké-Bodies. Poké-Powers are special effects that the player must trigger or announce using. A Poké-Body's effect is a passive Ability that is always in effect. When Pokémon Powers became Abilities, these distinctions were done away with.

In the manga

In the Pokémon Adventures manga

Plusle and Minun were the first Pokémon to have their Abilities - Plus and Minus - featured in the Pokémon Adventures. Abilities have been featured sometimes after this, mainly during battles.

Trivia

The unused Ability Cacophony was included in the coding for third-generation games as Ability #076 (Air Lock was #077). From the fourth generation, Cacophony was removed and Air Lock was renumbered as #076, with the new Abilities positioned from #077 onwards.

As of Generation V, excluding Hidden Abilities, there are 106 Pokémon (almost exactly one-sixth of the total) who have unique Ability combinations.